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    Companies

    Gaming & Wagering

    Yesterday

    Aristocrat’s Trevor Croker is bullish about the company’s prospects in North America.

    Aristocrat pops as pokies giant takes share in lucrative US market

    Shares soared nearly 12 per cent after it rewarded shareholders with a 6¢ increase to its fully franked interim dividend. It expects to continue to grow there.

    • Zoe Samios

    This Month

    Barrister Bret Walker said the sins of Star were in the past and should not be used to determine the suitability.

    Star Entertainment makes last-ditch argument to keep casino licence

    Bret Walker, SC, appearing for the company, condemned the “deplorable” behaviour of former executives who an inquiry heard went to war with the regulator.

    • Zoe Samios
    The Star Entertainment Group’s future is in the hands of Adam Bell, SC, who is due to determine whether it should stay open.

    Casino regulator bans Star staff from tables over collusion

    The NSW Independent Casino Commission has banned the two employees from operating games in the state for a decade.

    • Zoe Samios
    Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the report about Sportsbet was ‘deeply concerning’.

    Labor slams the NRL’s ‘deeply concerning’ Sportsbet tie-up

    Communications Minister Michelle Rowland is deciding what to do with recommendations from an online gambling inquiry, including a blanket advertising ban.

    • Zoe Samios
    Chef Tetsuya Wakuda at his restaurant Tetsuya’s in Sydney.

    Star Entertainment implosion leads to closure of fine diner Tetsuya’s

    The relationship between the casino’s former CEO and chief financial officer deteriorated over an unnamed “material” project, a NSW inquiry heard last month.

    • Zoe Samios
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    Left to right: Arthur Laundy, owner of Laundy Hotels, Melbourne Cup winning jockey Kerrin McEvoy, Sky Racing presenter Kiersten Duke, TAB’s Brenden Varcoe

    Tabcorp recruits Laundy in pub fight

    The ASX-listed wagering group will upgrade its betting terminals and broadcast displays across the Laundy Hotels portfolio, but lock its rival out.

    • Zoe Samios
    Laurence Escalante on one of his boats in Perth.

    Gambling mogul lists superyacht at $10m, starts retailing supercars

    A spokesman for Laurence Escalante’s private office said the sales were part of a new business venture.

    • Primrose Riordan
    The Star superyacht moored at Marina Mirage on the Gold Coast on Tuesday morning.

    Star Entertainment’s luxury yacht fire sale finds way to Federal Court

    The family office of a wealthy Cypriot businessman has accused the gaming group of reneging on a sales agreement, and wants millions of dollars in compensation.

    • Max Mason and Zoe Samios
    The Star Sydney is the centre of an inquiry that threatens to destabilise its owner.

    Blood in the water: Star needs a CEO to stop sharks tearing it apart

    Star’s board, beaten and bruised, has a short window to try to keep the entity together. If it misses this, sharks will move in. They’re already circling.

    • Updated
    • Anthony Macdonald
    Star Casino’s debt is being shopped around to potential buyers.

    Star Entertainment debt investor tries offloading stake

    At least one lender is feeling nervous after the list of executives leaving Star got bigger, and its shares fell 20 per cent in the past month.

    • Jonathan Shapiro and Zoe Samios
    ClubsNSWis dealing with the fallout of a data breach of a third-party IT provider.

    Man arrested in Sydney’s west over clubs data breach

    Disgruntled software developers who claim not to have been paid are being blamed for releasing details of more than 1 million pub and club patrons in NSW.

    • Updated
    • Max Mason, David Marin-Guzman and Zoe Samios
    Gone but not forgotten: Former Star Entertainment CEO Robbie Cooke and executive chairman David Foster.

    Star chief’s sacking reveals boardroom exit wounds

    “There is a narrative behind every departure,” former Star boss Robbie Cooke says. Unfortunately for Cooke, we’ve been given a rare glimpse into his.

    • Anthony Macdonald

    April

    David Foster was removed as chairman of Star over the weekend.

    Board ousts Star chairman as inquiry blowback continues

    David Foster will be replaced by director Anne Ward. She was one of the few directors who wanted former CEO Robbie Cooke to step down in December.

    • Updated
    • Zoe Samios
    Steve McCann left Crown Resorts in better shape than what he found it. Is he up for a new challenge?

    Is this the person to save fallen Star Entertainment?

    The clean-up of the gaming company is one for the ages. And there’s a name keeps coming up as a potential salvage CEO - former Lendlease boss Steve McCann.

    • Updated
    • Anthony Macdonald
    Crown will cut almost 5 per cent of its workforce.

    Blackstone’s Crown to shed 1000 jobs in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth

    Job losses will be split between the corporate division and the three casino precincts. Crown says the decision was driven by economic-related pressures.

    • Zoe Samios
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    Former Star Entertainment Group head Robbie Cooke in 2022.

    Former Star CEO says he felt ‘under assault’ from casino regulator

    Robbie Cooke left last month after NSW officials made it clear they did not think he was moving fast enough to fix governance and cultural issues at the group.

    • Updated
    • Zoe Samios
    Former Star Entertainment CEO Robbie Cooke.

    Robbie Cooke’s last stand shows Star Entertainment’s big problem

    The gaming group’s former chief executive said he felt under attack by the company’s regulator. Has this us-and-them mentality really left the business?

    • James Thomson
    David Foster  appearing at a hearing into Star’s Sydney licence on Tuesday.

    ‘Not a scenario’: Star concedes it’s unfit to operate Sydney

    The gaming giant’s chairman has also told a NSW inquiry that he was “trigger-happy” when he sent messages suggesting the regulator be scrapped.

    • Updated
    • Zoe Samios
    Star chairman David Foster was in the hot seat at the inquiry into Star’s fitness to hold a casino licence.

    ‘Wish I put my phone down’: Star chairman’s lament won’t save job

    David Foster says his messages about the regulator were made in the heat of the moment. But his evidence showed increasing tensions between Star and the regulator.

    • Updated
    • James Thomson
    Crown’s Sydney tower seen from Balmain. The $2.2 billion development was stymied by the loss of its gaming licence.

    Crown Resorts finally gets the green light to run Sydney casino

    The Blackstone-owned gaming giant had been subject to a string of restrictions after a NSW inquiry called into doubt its ability to properly run a casino.

    • Zoe Samios